


You're not alone

by Snow_Falls



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Roommates, Sexual Content, Threesome - M/M/M, Yakuza Eiji
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:34:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24669211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snow_Falls/pseuds/Snow_Falls
Summary: "Ash was so used to it being him and Shorter against the world, it was kind of magical that someone else should so easily slot themselves into a space that neither Ash nor Shorter realized had been left waiting to be filled."Eiji isn't the sweet and meek boy he first seems to be. As they get to know him, Ash and Shorter realize he's tougher than he looks, that he's hiding something, and that they are irresistibly drawn to him.
Relationships: Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji/Shorter Wong, Ash Lynx/Shorter Wong
Comments: 10
Kudos: 184
Collections: Banana Fish Reverse Big Bang





	You're not alone

**Author's Note:**

> It's my first time writing an ot3, please be gentle with me! 
> 
> Also, in terms of age, Eiji and Shorter are 18, and Ash is 17.

“Eiji really only comes here to sleep, huh?”

Ash glanced up from his notebook to look at Shorter, who was sliding off the edge of Ash’s bed, standing and stretching. Sitting still and finishing his homework was not Shorter’s strong suit, but when he wouldn’t keep going for his own sake, he usually would for Ash, which was why they often worked together. Now, Ash watched as Shorter wandered over to Eiji’s side of the room. 

He might have been worried Eiji would come in and catch Shorter going through his things, but Shorter was right, Eiji only returned to their shared room to sleep. That might have painted a different picture of Eiji, if Ash hadn’t been introduced to him already. On the brief occasions they did speak, Eiji was always in uniform. He spoke only when spoken to, and was unfailingly polite. When Ash asked him where he spent all his time, Eiji’s reply was easy and without hesitation, “the library.” 

Shorter sat on Eiji’s bed and peaked into the drawer of his desk, he looked a little crestfallen as he did, “I was kinda hoping to find, like, porn or something.” Ash raised his eyebrows, but before he could say anything Shorter pulled out a picture from the drawer. “This has to be his sister, she’s cute.” Shorter tilted his head to the side and said thoughtfully, “So is Eiji.” 

Ash turned his attention back to his homework, he replied absently, but just as truthfully, “He’s okay, I guess.” To be honest, Ash hadn’t considered it before, he almost didn’t think about Eiji at all, like he stopped existing outside of Ash’s sight. 

He heard Shorter rummage through Eiji’s things for a few moments longer before Shorter came back to sit with him. 

“How can you still be working, shouldn’t you be done already? I thought you were smart.” Shorter leaned his chin on top of Ash’s head, he could feel the vibrations from Shorter’s chest as he spoke. 

“If you’re bored you can go back, I’m not stopping you.” 

Ash couldn’t see Shorter’s expression, but he could tell he was pouting. 

“You’re kind of a jerk, you know.” He felt Shorter’s warm breath stir his hair as he sighed, then the press on his lips to the top of his head, and Shorter moved away, getting up again. “Fine then, I’ll see you tomorrow, make sure you sleep, you overachiever.”

“Shorter, you know I wasn’t - “ 

Shorter brushed away Ash’s attempt at an apology, “I know,” he interrupted. Shorter smiled, and walked backward to the door. “You could literally put a knife through my heart, and I wouldn’t take it personally. I know you, man, don’t sweat it.” He turned to open the door and then looked back, mock stern he said, “Make sure you sleep, hooligan!”

“Yeah, yeah, speak for yourself.”

They smiled at each other, and Shorter slipped out, closing the door behind him. 

Ash sighed and then stretched putting down his books. He rubbed at his eyes and then moved his things to his tiny desk. Standing, Ash glanced at the clock on his desk, it was five minutes to curfew, Ash was actually surprised Eiji hadn’t shown up by now. 

Perhaps a minute later Ash turned when he heard the sound of hurried footsteps approach the door, Eiji burst in, his breathing was uneven, like he’d been running, and he sighed when he walked into the room closing the door behind him. 

“Hey,” Ash greeted, watching as Eiji kneeled to untie his shoes. He was one of the only people Ash had ever known to take the trouble to properly tie and untie his shoelaces. 

“Hi,” Eiji greeted, looking up to smile briefly before turning back to his shoes. 

Ash observed him for a second longer, and then turned back to his desk. He supposed he might as well properly but his books away since he had time. He was vaguely aware of Eiji moving to his own side of the room, and just as Ash was sitting back on his own bed the quiet of the room was broken by the sound of loud rumbling. 

Eiji met his eyes in that moment, and they stared at each other as Eiji’s stomach let out another loud growl. His roommate flushed bright red, and Ash couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Did you skip dinner or something?” Ash asked, trying without any real effort to smother his laughter.

“I just - I forgot.” Eiji replied, looking away and putting a hand over his stomach, which chose that moment to growl again. 

Ash shook his head, what a nerd, he had probably been too eager to finish his homework to get any food. Feeling magnanimous, Ash leaned over the side of his bed and pulled one of the drawers open, “Here,” Ash said, pulling out one of the chip bags he kept there, “You can have this.” He held it out to Eiji. 

Instead of simply reaching out and taking the bag, Eiji stared at it, and then at him. After a few seconds of this Ash shook the bag impatiently. “Here,” he said again.

“I really don’t need it, thank you.” 

Ash raised his eyebrows, Eiji’s stomach growled unhelpfully. Sighing, Ash rolled his eyes and then tossed the bag at Eiji. Eiji caught it without fumbling which surprised Ash. “Just eat the damn things, everything’s closed right now. Your stomach’s gonna keep me up.”

Eiji looked like he wanted to protest again, but he met Ash’s eyes and then smiled, “Thank you,” he said, obviously relenting.

It took Ash aback. Not because he hadn’t expected Eiji to thank him, but because the smile he gave him was different from any other smile Ash had seen from him before. He realized then that when Eiji had smiled before, it had never quite reached his eyes. Like this Ash could understand why Shorter had called him cute. 

The next day Eiji came back in less of a hurry, Ash was lounging in bed scrolling through his phone and looked up when he realized that Eiji was walking over to him. His roommate still had his uniform on, it looked neat and tidy despite the fact that he had presumably spent all day in it. Ash didn’t know how he managed that, and how he could bear wearing his tie properly, Ash only ever wore his pulled loose, and Shorter almost never had the blazer on or his shirt tucked in. 

Eiji was carrying a plastic bag, from it he produced a bottle and proffered it to Ash. He was smiling, and again Ash noticed that this smile too was different. Not as bright and genuine as the one yesterday, but warm, it made Ash feel warm too. 

Reaching out Ash took the bottle, which he recognized as soda. “Thanks,” he said, sitting up and putting his phone down. He recognized the drink right away, “Marble soda, huh?”

“Ramune,” Eiji agreed, walking over to his bed to put his bags down. “I didn’t know which flavour you’d like, I got original.” 

“That’s fine, thank you,” he said again. “I haven’t had one of these in ages, where did you even get it?” As far as Ash knew, there was nowhere to get these unless you went into the city proper. 

“Me either,” Eiji said. He sat on his bed and took another bottle out from the bag. “I used to have them a lot as a child,” he looked fondly down at the bottle. “In Japan, these are very popular in the summer.”

Ash watched Eiji as he spoke, he had never heard him talk so much. Now that he was saying more than a handful of words at a time Ash could hear the hint of an accent. He had sort of noticed it before, but now it seemed more obvious that the words Eiji spoke were shaped by the influence of his native tongue. 

“How long have you lived here?” Ash asked while opening the bottle, and then pushing the marble down, he remembered there was a trick to drinking these.

“A few years,” Eiji replied, opening his own bottle. “Will you keep your marble?”

“Why, do you want it?”

Eiji shook his head, “No, keep it, the first one of the season is lucky.”

“I never heard that.” Ash looked skeptically at his own bottle.

Eiji laughed, “That’s because my mom made it up to stop my sister from crying once when we were children.”

Eiji tossed over snacks he had brought as well, and they sat talking for a while. It was surprisingly easy to speak with Eiji, he had a sweet receptive air around him, it made Ash feel like he honestly wanted to hear what Ash had to say. He found himself _wanting_ to talk to Eiji about things, which was not common for him at all. 

When it grew late they collected their garbage and started getting ready for sleep. Ash changed in the dorm, but Eiji grabbed his things and left to get ready in the bathroom. Ash had never seen Eiji in less than perfect uniform, partly because Eiji never changed his clothes in front of him, probably he was shy. It was such a hassle to do all that though, and Ash thought about offering to look away while he changed, but that just made it sound like he wanted to peak at him. In his head Ash could hear the way Shorter would tease him if he knew Ash had said anything like that to Eiji. 

_“Listen, I get it. The boy is a snack, but maybe buy him dinner or something first before you ask him to take off his clothes. Personally, I would use the line, ‘Nice uniform, I bet it looks better on the floor of our bedroom. Oh shit, but maybe that kind of sounds like you don’t mind a messy room, hang on, I can fix this…”_

Ash shook his head, he smiled wryly to himself. He had spent _way_ too much time with Shorter, he was getting too good at imagining Shorter’s side of conversations. 

By the time Eiji came back Ash was already lying in bed. He had his phone out again and watched in the dim lamplight as Eiji walked across the room to his own bed. He wore actual pyjamas, light blue long sleeved pyjamas with matching pants. Ash smiled a little, Eiji was such a nerd. 

“G’night,” Ash heard himself say. 

Eiji looked over at him, they usually only said hi and bye. “Good night,” Eiji replied.

  
  
  


Without meaning to, Ash and Eiji developed a rapport, which Shorter was inevitably brought into. Eiji still only showed up to their room to sleep, but they stayed up talking some nights. Shorter would sneak back into their room after they did roll call before lights out, and they would continue their conversations from earlier. It turned out they liked some of the same shows, movies, and books, and when they didn’t they were willing to listen to the other talk about them. Eiji seemed genuinely interested when either Ash or Shorter talked about something he’d never heard of. 

“That’s not the point!” Ash said heatedly one evening, making an effort to keep his voice down. All three young men sat on his bed, they sat around Ash’s booklight, which gave off just enough illumination for him to see their expressions reasonably well. “The point _is_ that it’s tragic! Life is inherently tragic, it’s just a moment, it’s fleeting, but that’s also what makes it beautiful.”

Shorter let out a frustrated sigh. “Fuck. That.” He pointed the Pocky he had been about to eat at Ash. “Why the fuck should tragedy be beautiful? Why is heartbreak, like, praised? That’s sick. I’ll never see any beauty in that. You know what’s beautiful?” He gestured around himself, “This. Small moments that _seem_ ordinary, but are actually what life’s all about. No one has to die young, aging isn’t some kind of fucking curse, it’s a blessing.” 

Ash sighed too. “We have this argument every time, goddamn.” He turned to look at Eiji. “What do you think?”

Eiji looked mildly alarmed to be pulled into this heated argument, one that Ash and Shorter had already been arguing in circles. He looked from one of them to the other. He wore a plain black henley shirt with plain black pyjama bottoms, he was the only one of the three of them that ever slept in anything matching. 

He took a breath, and Ash could tell he was choosing his words very carefully when he spoke. “I think there is something of merit in what you’re both saying.” Ash and Shorter groaned at the same time. Shorter flicked a piece of popcorn at Eiji which he caught and then threw at Ash, which he also caught, and then ate. “No, listen.” Eiji sat up straighter, and both young men waited. “There is something beautiful about things not lasting, ‘Nothing gold can stay.’” He paused, and continued thoughtfully, “But, there is also beauty in the ordinary and the mundane. I think also that there is already so much despair in the world, and we deserve to see goodness and happiness too.”

There was a slight pause, and then Shorter said, “So you agree with me.”

“That’s not what he said - ”

“That’s _exactly_ what he said - “

“Neither of you are _listening_ \- “

Eiji didn’t settle their arguments, as Ash thought a third party might, instead he added a third facet. It was interesting to hear a different perspective, and to have someone else come in and stare them down. Ash was so used to it being him and Shorter against the world, it was kind of magical that someone else should so easily slot themselves into a space that neither Ash nor Shorter realized had been left waiting to be filled. 

As willing as Eiji was to argue with them, it seemed like he wasn’t as willing to share. He only sometimes spoke about Japan, and his life there. Ash thought maybe he was like both Shorter and himself, trying to keep the shittiness of his childhood at a distance. While Ash didn’t really care about getting to know anyone, he wanted to know Eiji. He wanted him to talk, and just keep talking. Ash wanted to listen to the sound of his voice, to his stories, until he was able to accurately come up with his side of a conversation when Eiji wasn’t around. 

*

“I feel like I should have just gotten both kinds of cookies,” Shorter lamented as they walked across the field. There wasn’t much in the area, a few restaurants, a grocery store, and a convenience store, the latter was where Shorter and Ash came from now. 

It was a well worn path that they’d walked for almost four years now, Shorter hardly even noticed where he went anymore, he simply let his feet lead him. They passed an old shed Shorter had only ever been in once or twice, before he and Ash were serious Shorter had met other students in that shed to fool around. There were old gym mats in there that were good enough when you were desperate. Ash hadn’t wanted to meet him in the shed, but Shorter imagined it was just as dirty and unkempt as ever. 

“You say that every time.” Ash replied absently, checking something on his phone. 

“And you point that out every time.” 

Ash gave him a sidelong look, “And you point _that_ out every time.” Ash shook his head, “We sound like a boring old married couple, Jesus.” 

“I’d like to think it’s thanks to the Buddha, actually.” 

Ash elbowed him, and rummaged through his own bag. “Eiji didn’t reply to my texts, but I still got him some stuff, I’m pretty sure he likes these kinds of chips.” Shorter raised his eyebrows, and smiled slowly. “What?” Ash demanded when he caught sight of the look Shorter was giving him. 

Shorter couldn’t help grinning. “Nothing,” he said. “You’ve just been talking about Eiji a lot lately.”

A beautiful and wondrous thing happened then, Ash blushed. That was rare. Shorter wasn’t a scrapbook kind of guy, but if he was, he would fill a whole album of only pictures of Ash blushing. Maybe he would sleep with it under his pillow too, it would be bound to give him good dreams. 

Ash elbowed him again, a bit harder this time. “Shut up,” he said, not meeting Shorter’s eye. “I have not.”

“Listen, it’s fine. He’s kind of…” Shorter trailed off, what was Eiji like? It was hard to put into words, at least ones that Shorter would comfortably say aloud, which was saying something, since Shorter had exactly zero shame when it came to shit that came out of his mouth. He gestured vaguely, “He has that French thing, _je ne sais pas_.” 

“ _Quoi_.” 

“What?”

“ _Je ne sais quoi_.”

“Yeah, that’s what I said.”

Ash shook his head again, they were at the dorms now, Shorter held the door open for Ash and followed him in. Shorter bumped into Ash on the way into his room when he suddenly stopped without warning. 

“Oh,” Ash said, “Eiji, hey.”

Shorter looked over the top of Ash’s head, sure enough, there sat Eiji at his desk. Shorter checked his phone, there was still at least an hour and a half until curfew, this was perhaps the earliest Shorter had ever seen Eiji in his room. 

“Hi,” Eiji greeted both of them as they took off their shoes at the entrance of the room and then both made their way over to Ash’s bed to sit down. “Did you guys buy something?” 

“Yeah,” Ash replied at once, “Do you want some?” 

Shorter smiled and made himself comfortable on Ash’s bed. Ash and Eiji’s beds were pushed against opposite walls of their dorm, with the two desks in the middle, sitting under the only window in the room. There was a large plush rug between the two beds, Eiji had brought it in a few days ago, and Shorter sometimes laid on it to stretch out his back.

Now, Shorter leaned his back against the wall, and sat with his legs hanging off the edge of Ash’s bed. He watched as Ash tossed Eiji a bag of chips and then made to sit down as well. Ash sat length wise on his bed, resting his feet in Shorter’s lap, Shorter automatically cupped Ash’s ankle. He thought Ash missed the look Eiji gave them in that moment as he looked at something on his phone. Shorter caught Eiji’s eye, and Eiji hastily looked back down at his books, his face turning pink. Shorter felt a not unfamiliar feeling warm his heart and stomach. 

They sat in surprisingly comfortable silence for a moment, no one said anything as Ash and Shorter scrolled through their phones, and Eiji continued to do his work. After a little while Ash opened a bag of M&M’s and began tossing them at Shorter to catch in his mouth, they were impressively good at this in Shorter’s opinion, though to be fair, they had had years of practice. 

Eiji looked over and smiled while they were doing this. He caught Ash’s eye, who said, “Want some?” And mimed throwing it over. Eiji looked surprised and then a little alarmed to be asked to join in. 

“No, wait,” Shorter dug through his own bag and then tossed another bag of M&M’s at Eiji, which he caught smoothly. “You look like you have good arms, you should throw too.” Ash shot him a look, but Shorter didn’t turn away from Eiji. He smiled, and Eiji smiled back too, a little shy. “I bet you do better than Ash.”

“What!” Ash, indignant. 

It was a contest then, and Ash got up to sit next to Eiji at his own desk. Shorter was probably eating too much chocolate, but that was a problem for his future self. And, just as Shorter had predicted, Eiji had good aim. He missed the first couple times as he got used to it, but then he and Ash were neck and neck. Ash said something that made Eiji laugh, and he missed, an M&M bouncing off Shorter’s chin. That one he picked up, “Ash,” he said, and Ash opened his mouth, Shorter’s aim was perfect. 

Suddenly Ash seemed to notice the work on Eiji’s desk, “It looks like you’ve been struggling, want some help?” His manner was easy, it was an observation, not a judgement, and after a slight pause Eiji answered that he did. Homework of any kind wasn’t Shorter’s strong suit, plus if Ash was there then he really didn’t need to be, so he stretched out on Ash’s bed and watched the two young men work, their game forgotten. 

It was surprisingly soothing to see them getting along. He listened to Ash explain some math formulas, and watched the way Eiji looked at him, and the way Ash looked back. It made him feel a strange mix of emotions. There was pride, that Ash was learning to play nice with others, and that Eiji clearly liked Ash. There was also a soft kind of tenderness in him too to see an interaction so sweet, both young men looked as if they had stars in their eyes when they glanced at each other. It felt like Shorter was watching something formidable and unavoidable happen, like the tides surging, or the sudden downpour of rain. It seemed to happen in an instant, but it had clearly been building for some time. As much as Shorter wanted to be in that moment too, there was something equally rewarding in being where he was, and letting the moment be, observing from an extremely privileged position. 

“You know,” Shorter heard Ash say, “If you just didn’t get it, you could have just asked for help.”

Eiji laughed a little, “Yeah, well, you know me, I get shy.”

He thought Ash probably got the same feeling from that reply as he did, that it wasn’t exactly the truth. There were times when Eiji said something that didn’t seem like a malicious lie, but it didn’t quite feel like the truth either. Shorter hadn’t talked about it with Ash, but he was astute, and Shorter thought he must have picked up on it as well, almost as if Eiji were trying to hide something from them. 

Eventually it was time for Shorter to leave. 

“Are you gonna come back and hang?” Ash asked when Shorter got up.

“Nah,” Shorter replied. “I have to be up early for practice, I’m gonna fall asleep on the track.” 

“Oh,” Eiji’s face lit up, Shorter realized he hadn’t mentioned this before in front of Eiji. “Are you on a sports team?”

“Yeah,” Shorter replied, walking over so he could hug Ash from behind. “Track, long distance running.”

“Cool! Me too!” Eiji added, in a tone that suggested he had forgotten this until just now, “I mean, I used to be. Pole vaulting.”

“You should start up in the spring, Ash can come cheer for both of us.” Shorter shook his head back and forth while his chin rested on top of Ash’s head, it was almost like he was trying to scratch Ash’s head with his chin. When Ash eventually got annoyed and tried to push him off, Shorter laughed, and kissed the top of his head. “Think about it.” He said, “Have a good night,” Shorter smiled, and winked at Eiji before he turned and left the room. 

*

The pleasant fall weather wouldn’t last much longer, which was a shame since Ash enjoyed it. They were now at that point in fall where the temperature might suddenly drop, and neither leather nor jean jackets would cut it anymore. 

They were also coming up to the point where all their assignments were due, and when they needed to start studying in earnest. One morning while Ash was reluctantly dragging himself out of bed, blurrily watching as Eiji crammed his things into his bag, he said, “I could help you study, you know.” Ash had to pause to clear his throat, his voice still rough with sleep. He pushed his bangs out of his eyes, “You don’t have to lock yourself in the library.”

Eiji turned to look at him, obviously surprised, he was already dressed, and had clearly been awake for some time. His bag was always filled to the brim with his things, since he spent his whole day out of the room. Ash imagined it must be so tiring. “Oh,” Eiji replied, zipping up his bag, “That’s, um, thank you. But, I concentrate better in the library.” 

Before Ash could offer to join him, Eiji’s phone rang. Obviously startled, Eiji jumped, scooped up his bag, and threw a hurried smile at Ash over his shoulder, before he answered his phone on the way to the door. 

What anyone could need at eight in the morning from Eiji, Ash didn’t know, but he let his roommate leave without another word. Sometimes, Ash thought they were close, or at least a lot closer than before. But, Eiji always turned down his invitations to go to the store, to go out on weekends, they never hung out outside of their room. Eiji was deliberately keeping both him and Shorter at a distance, and Ash didn’t know why. 

Ash frowned at the now empty room. Sighing, he let himself fall back onto his bed. 

  
  
  


Later that day, Ash was in Shorter’s room for a change. Shorter’s roommate was never around when Ash showed up, but he knew for a fact it was deliberate. 

“Do you think Eiji’s our friend?” Ash asked without preamble as they worked on an assignment together. 

Shorter looked over at him, he seemed to seriously consider the question. They were sitting on Shorter’s bed, both of them with their backs against the wall. “I think,” Shorter began, “He wants to be, at least.” Ash got that feeling as well, so his actions were even more strange. Shorter ran a hand through his hair, it was washed, his purple mohawk wasn’t standing up with all the product he normally used. Shorter had gotten in trouble all the time when he had first done it, but his family was well connected, and apart from the occasional, ‘You need to consider what society will think of you,’ lectures he sometimes got, Shorter was free to have any kind of hair he liked. 

“You know, I asked around about him,” Shorter continued, “And, I don’t think he really has any friends, no one really talks to or knows about him, which is wild. In this school everyone is all up in everyone else’s business.” 

Ash wanted to believe he was just shy, but he didn’t think that was quite right. There was something standing in his way, but he wasn’t sure if Eiji would ever share what it was. He agreed with Shorter that Eiji clearly _wanted_ to be closer to them. Ash was sure, he was almost positive, that he recognized the way Eiji looked at him, the way he looked at Shorter. He didn’t think it was in his head, and it wasn’t like they both weren’t returning his looks, so then why - ?

Sighing, Ash tried to push the thought from his mind. He turned back to his work. The two young men sat in silence for a while. Books were littered around the bed, they both sat making notes and marking pages that they would later use to draft their report. Ash found it oddly relaxing, and after a moment felt himself sink into the familiar soothing patterns of research. 

He was vaguely aware of the sound of Shorter putting his pen firmly down on his notebook, and then the rustling as he piled up books and leaned over the bed to stack them on the floor. Part of him already knew what he was doing, but Ash wasn’t going to help him get there, and continued to work while Shorter cleaned up. 

Finally, there was nothing left but the books Ash was currently using, and he felt Shorter put a hand on his knee at the same time that he kissed Ash’s forehead. Ash paused, and looked up. Shorter didn’t say anything, just kissed him again, this time on his jaw. Ash closed his eyes, feeling a pleasant tingle. 

“Fine,” Ash said, and it sounded harsher than he meant it, as it came out on an exhale. “But, you have to be fast, I’m not messing around, this shit needs to be done today.” 

Shorter smirked at him and raised an eyebrow, “Oh, _now_ you want me to be fast?” He picked up Ash’s things and set those too onto the floor. 

“Shut up,” Ash retorted, and reached over to unbutton Shorter’s jeans. He was already hard, so he must have been thinking about this for some time. Shorter didn’t protest when Ash pushed him onto his back. 

This was precisely why Shorter’s roommate was never around, he had once had the misfortune of walking in on them, and to be fair, they had forgotten to lock the door. In the early days of their relationship, both of them were in such a hurry to tear their clothes off, it was actually a miracle they made it back to anyone’s room. So, now, Shorter’s roommate left whenever Shorter told him Ash was stopping by, and didn’t return until Shorter told him Ash was gone. 

  
  
  


“I really should have just bought both.” Shorter said as he rummaged one handed through his bag, and frowned slightly. 

Ash shot him a look, and then sighed, exasperated. They were walking across the field, and the breeze that blew passed them was just tolerable in the fall jackets they wore. 

“I think, subconsciously, you don’t actually want both.”

“Not true,” Shorter turned and bared his teeth in not quite a smile. “I’m bisexual, both is by default always my answer.” 

Ash rolled his eyes, “You don’t get to tell _me_ that - “ He broke off abruptly as something caught his attention. It took only a second for Ash to realize it was noise coming from the shed. He shared a look with Shorter that told him he had also noticed. In silent agreement, they edged closer. They normally didn’t pass very close to the old shed, they didn’t need to, but Ash was always wary of it. He knew Shorter had - _fond_ \- memories there, but Ash had come across two different students on two different occasions fighting off unwanted attention there. One day he was going to come back here and simply burn it to the ground. 

Closer, they were able to make out the noise, voices, and they didn’t sound pleasant. 

Exchanging another look, Shorter and Ash dropped the bags they were carrying and quietly went over to the shed. 

Walking around the exterior, Ash spotted a small window high up. He motioned to it, and then gestured that Shorter should give him a boost so he could see through it. Shorter didn’t hesitate to comply, and a moment later Ash was able to balance himself while holding onto the small ledge of the window. It was dim inside, but Ash saw right away that there were quite a few more people than he had first imagined. 

Old gym equipment was stored in here, musty boxes lined one wall, worn looking equipment lined another, and a bare lightbulb hung overhead. There were also no fewer than five men inside, none of them high school age, with a couple looking like they could be someone’s parents. From the way they were standing, all looking in one direction, Ash quickly realized there was someone else in there, the space was small, and a little crowded, but the men were purposely gathered around one corner, and when one of them moved, Ash caught a glance of their school uniform. 

Shorter made a small sound, and tapped on his leg to get his attention, but Ash waved him away. He watched as the men, obviously agitated, gestured aggressively at whoever they were cornering. Ash caught more glimpses of uniform, and finally, dark hair. He felt a chill go through him, like an ominous premonition. 

The voices were clearer, but no easier to understand, and as the men moved, making space for the two older ones who were clearly in charge, Ash finally saw him. There was absolutely no triumph in having his suspicion confirmed when he saw Eiji. Instead Ash felt a cold shock. Eiji sat in the corner on a small pile of gym mats, he was disheveled, his uniform askew, with his hands obviously tied behind his back, and as Ash watched, one of the older men leaned down, grabbed his hair and said something in a furious low whisper that Ash could not hear nor guess at. Eiji said something back, he didn’t look afraid, or tearful as Ash would have expected, and Ash didn’t think he imagined the hint of a smile on Eiji’s lips he saw. The man let go of Eiji’s hair, and backhanded him. 

That finally jolted Ash out of his shock. Without making the conscious decision to do it, Ash had jumped down, and continued to ignore a concerned and confused Shorter. Part of him wanted to fill him in, but the other, larger part, couldn’t stand inaction a second longer. Ash was already running around the shed, Shorter hot on his heels. 

At the door, Ash spared exactly half a minute to raise five fingers to Shorter, and point to the shed. Shorter nodded in understanding, and without wasting another second, Ash kicked the door in. 

In the surprise of their entrance, Shorter and Ash managed to knock one man each to the ground, Ash ran directly for the man he saw hit Eiji. Hitting him square in the jaw, taking care to put all his weight into it, and the man dropped. In the moment he didn’t feel pain, but later, but the adrenaline wore off, his hand would definitely hurt.

The initial surprise wore off quickly for the other men, and they attacked. Two of them went after Shorter, but Ash couldn’t give him a hand because at the same moment another man was coming toward him with a switchblade. 

Ash and Shorter were no strangers to a fight, and, despite the fact that it had been some time since they had had reason to be in one, fighting, it turned out, was like riding a bike. The clarity of mind Ash always had in these moments came to him automatically, and he let the man charge him, carefully timing his sidestep so the man ran into the boxes Ash was standing in front of, tripping over them. 

He had only a second’s respite however, because then Eiji was shouting at him to duck, which he did, and narrowly missed being punched in the head as one of Shorter’s initial attackers came at him instead. Ash had a second to take in the sight of Shorter on the ground grappling with one of the other men, before he had to pull his attention away. 

Backing up in the little space left to him, Ash found himself standing in front of Eiji. Glancing around, Ash tried to find something to fight with, but the only thing within arm’s reach were the gym mats Eiji was sliding off of. Ash felt adrenaline run through him, despite the fact that he felt urgency burn through his veins, at the same time it felt as if things were suddenly moving very slowly. He took in his surroundings, his opponents, and the fact that he had someone else to protect, and then quickly stripped off his jacket. Ash wrapped both arms of the jacket around his hands, and held it taunt between them. 

“Stay behind me,” he warned Eiji as the two men came at him, this time at once. 

Eiji either didn’t hear him, or chose to ignore him. He did the exact opposite of what Ash had instructed and barrelled out from behind him. Eiji swore, Ash was fairly sure he was swearing, it wasn’t in English, and charged the empty handed man. Ash barely had time to shout when he had to dodge the swipe of a switchblade.

Ash kicked at the knee of his assailant at the same moment that he felt a sting of pain on his left arm. The pain barely registered over the shouting in his mind. 

_Eiji._

He had to remind himself to keep his cool, but he felt panic well in him. Eiji. He had charged the other man, hands bound. For a nerd, he was incredibly stupid. Ash needed to deal with this man as quickly as possible to help Eiji. 

The man stepped back, recoiling in pain, and Ash took advantage of the moment to step forward, catch the knife wielding hand with his jacket, and wrench it backward savagely. 

The man let out a small cry of pain and dropped the knife. Ash leaned back and then knocked his head hard into the man’s own head. While his attacker reeled, Ash moved around him, swiftly wrapped his arms around the man’s neck, and choked him out. When he went still Ash let go, and turned in a rush to help his friends. 

He found that they didn’t need his help. Shorter was moving toward him, the man he had fought with also lying on the ground, and Eiji, the person he had been most concerned for, seemed to be doing just fine. 

Ash stared, dumbfounded. Eiji’s hands were unbound now, Ash had no idea how he had managed that. His lip was bleeding, and there was a bruise blooming on his cheek where he had been struck, but he wasn’t cowering. He stood over the man he had charged, a hard look in his eye as he pressed his foot to the man’s neck. 

As Ash watched Eiji said something to the man, the man gasped something in reply that made Eiji frown at him, and then press marginally harder. 

“Woah, hey,” Shorter stepped forward, hands out placating, “I don’t give a shit about this guy, but I do care about you, and I don’t want you to have to deal with the fucking cops.” 

Finally, Eiji looked at them. His expression remained hard, even cold, and for a moment it seemed as if he didn’t really see them Eiji blinked once and then turned his gaze back to the man under his foot. There was a pause, and then Eiji took his foot off. He spat something at the man, in Japanese, Ash realized, and deliberately stepped on him to head toward the door of the shed, scooping up his bag as he went. 

As one, both Ash and Shorter followed him out. They were quiet as they left, Ash had the foresight to close the door behind him. 

“Should we just leave them there?” He asked, looking over at Eiji. 

“Yes,” he replied, surprisingly calm, “They are the ones who want to be caught the least, they’ll leave without making a scene.”

They didn’t reply to that, but Shorter ran to get the bags they had dropped earlier, and came running to catch them as they made their way back to the dorm. They carefully avoided other students, and made directly for Ash and Eiji’s room. 

At their room, Ash, who had taken the least amount of damage, left them with a quick, “There’s a first aid kit under my bed,” grabbing clean towels and then heading out to the bathroom. It felt simultaneously as if there were a million thoughts running through his mind, and no thoughts at all. 

After running the towels under warm water and trying not to let them drip, Ash dashed back to his room. He found Shorter and Eiji sitting on the rug on the floor, passing a bottle of water between them. Ash dumped out the things from the plastic bags they had been carrying and placed the towels on there and then sat in the space left for him. 

“Okay,” Ash said, suddenly business-like, “Who’s hurt where?”

As the boys took off their jackets and shirts to make it easier to clean themselves off, Shorter asked the obvious question. 

“What the hell happened back there?”

Both young men watched as Eiji pulled his tie off, his dress shirt was stained and torn, buttons clearly missing, and the tie had been keeping the neck of his shirt closed. As he took his shirt off too Ash had a sudden explanation for why Eiji never changed or wore anything cut lower than his collarbone.

Colour swirled over his shoulders and curled onto his chest. Ash was sitting facing Eiji, but he guessed the tattoo ran across his shoulder blades. Ash had seen tattoos like that before, occasionally in person, but mostly in movies, though he had never found them quite as striking as he did in that moment. 

Shorter leaned over and pushed Ash’s chin up, closing Ash’s mouth with an audible snap. Ash scowled and shoved him, feeling his face go hot. Shorter just grinned at Eiji, and whistled low. “So,” he said, “you’re yakuza.” 

Eiji just nodded.

“Yakuza?” Ash echoed, “The japanese mafia?”

Eiji nodded again, and without meeting their eyes, leaned forward to grab some disinfectant and poured it on a cotton swab, which he began dabbing at his lip. 

“Here,” Shorter said, offering his hand, “Let me.”

As Shorter cleaned Eiji’s lip, Ash began cleaning the cut on his own arm. It was shallow, and mostly just stung. “You didn’t explain, what the fuck happened?”

Eiji sighed as Shorter sat back. Eiji picked up a cotton ball and poured more disinfectant on it, and looked at Shorter for permission to clean him off now. Shorter’s eyebrow was split, and there were scratches along his neck, at Eiji’s look, Shorter nodded. 

“There’s not much to say,” Eiji said dully, gently cleaning Shorter’s neck. “It’s like Shorter guessed, my family is yakuza. Sometimes this just happens.” 

Ash and Shorter exchanged a look. Ash was not an expert on the yakuza, but he did know something about gang warfare, and how sometimes people got caught in the crossfire. It was a shitty explanation, but sometimes shitty explanations were all you got, as bad as it was, Eiji was right, there wasn’t much else to say. 

“Has this happened before?” Shorter asked as Eiji finished cleaning the scratches on his neck and sat up on his knees to clean the cut on his eyebrow. 

“Usually they don’t manage to grab me like that, I was careless.”

Ash and Shorter exchanged another look. It was like everything about Eiji was reframing itself in Ash’s mind. His hesitancy, his shyness, his isolation, they took on new and different meanings.

“You know,” Ash said, “It would be harder for anyone to grab you if you weren’t alone.”

Eiji paused, looking first at Ash and then Shorter, “Maybe,” he agreed slowly, “But it would also put whoever I was with in danger.”

Ash shrugged. He finished bandaging his arm and put his things down. “Shorter and I have never shied away from a fight.”

Eiji shook his head, “Don’t be stupid.”

“Ash’s IQ is 160,” Shorter replied.

“180,” Ash corrected automatically.

Shorter rolled his eyes, “The point we’re making,” Shorter went on giving Ash a look, “Is that we’re not dumb. We know what we’re saying when we tell you you don’t have to be alone all the time. You can choose to be with us,” he exchanged another look with Ash, “We choose to be with you.” The two of them had talked about this the other day, about this thing developing between the three of them, and acknowledged they wanted Eiji in the same way they wanted each other.

Eiji sat back on his heels and looked at them. He looked torn, he wore the expression of someone who desperately wanted to say yes, but didn’t know how. 

“I’ll cause you trouble,” Eiji warned them weakly, Ash could see him giving in. 

Ash shifted closer, taking the used cotton ball from Eiji’s hand and throwing it into the garbage. “Good,” Ash said, smiling a little. “Trouble’s my middle name, it’s Shorter’s first name.” 

Eiji let out a breathy laugh. They smiled at each other and began to clean up. They said nothing more about it, but it felt as though they didn’t need to. Ash could feel the wall Eiji had built around himself crumble, and he could see him more clearly now. Eiji could be shy and unsure, but he was strong too, he had an edge that was sharp and honed. 

When the first aid kit was packed away, the young men continued to sit on the floor, this time passing around the snacks Ash and Shorter had bought. They cleaned themselves up with the towels Ash had brought, and cleaned their hands with wet wipes Ash also kept. When Eiji asked, with an amused smile why he had all these things, Ash responded seriously, “Shorter and I caught beef with a lot of people the first couple years here, people are still pissed at us, these are for emergencies.”

  
  


Not needing to remove his shirt to clean himself off, Ash was the only one still wearing one. Shorter had a tank top on, and Eiji wore no shirt at all. It felt as if it were only a matter of time until one of them asked, “Do you mind if I look at your tattoos?”

It was Shorter who asked. He put down the bottle he was drinking from to look at Eiji. Eiji seemed surprised to be asked, both Ash and Shorter waited for his answer expectantly. 

“Um, sure?”

Ash took it as permission to have a closer look as well. They were as beautiful as they were intricate. Swirling waves of water were dotted with blooming chrysanthemums, and on each shoulder blade Eiji had a fierce foo dog, which Ash only discovered the name for after he asked. As Ash had predicted, they covered his shoulder blades, but they didn’t go further down. 

Unthinking, he reached out to trace the line of one of the waves. “I thought these tattoos were supposed to cover your whole back?”

Eiji shivered lightly as Shorter too touched his shoulder. “They do, but it’s not done all at once. We receive tattoos over time, it can take years to finish.” 

Ash brushed the petal of a bright flower under his thumb, it was true artistry at work. 

“Most people don’t like them,” Eiji added. He sat still under their hands, though his shoulders seemed suddenly tense. 

“What!” Ash and Shorter exclaimed at once.

“Who wouldn’t like this?”

“This is fuckin’ _art_!”

Eiji laughed. “I’m glad you think so.” 

As Ash watched, Shorter let his fingers trail down Eiji’s spine, Eiji shivered again, but he didn’t try to move away from the touch. “What else will you get?” Shorter asked, bringing his fingers back up. 

In a distracted manner, Eiji replied, “I - I’m not really sure.” 

Ash touched the swell of muscle on Eiji’s biceps. “Your arms too?”

“I - “ Eiji seemed to be having a hard time keeping his thoughts in order. “Yes, I - yes.”

It wasn’t hard to notice the way Eiji was breathing slightly faster, or the fact that he was now flushed. 

“Eiji.” Eiji turned to look at him, “Can I kiss you?” Ash asked.

Ash could tell he had caught Eiji off guard, and watched as he shot Shorter a wild look. Shorter just smiled in reply, and Eiji turned back to him. 

“But,” Eiji said, “I thought, aren’t you two - ?” 

Ash looked over at Shorter, and then back at Eiji. “We are.” He confirmed, “But, we like you too.”

“Are you sure?” Eiji blurted.

Both Shorter and Ash laughed. 

“We’re not laughing at you,” Shorter clarified. 

“We’re sure.” Ash added. 

Eiji looked from one of them to the other, and finally down at his hands. 

“I don’t - “ he paused, and then continued, “I’ve never done this before.”

“We’ll go slow, is that okay?”

After a second, Eiji lifted his head, and nodded. Ash reached out to touch his cheek, watching the way Eiji half closed his eyes, and then kissed him. 

He was careful of his cut, and kissed Eiji softly. He tasted as sweet as he looked. 

When he drew back, Eiji’s expression was dazed. Shorter touched Eiji’s neck, Eiji turned to look at him, and then received a kiss from him too. It was a strange and not unpleasant feeling to see that, it wasn’t jealousy that Ash felt, it was something quietly joyous, something that he hadn’t known he needed. 

Ash leaned down and kissed the top of Eiji’s shoulder, and then slowly drew his mouth up to kiss Eiji’s neck. He felt Eiji’s hand come up and slide into his hair, when Eiji made a small noise as Ash ran a hand up his torso, Ash felt his body heat up. 

Eiji was beautiful, and Ash wanted to trace the lines of his tattoo with his tongue, he wanted to kiss every flower petal, and watch as the muscle under his beautifully adorned skin moved under his touch. He wanted to know if Eiji, caught in the height of orgasm, would cry out in Japanese. 

When Shorter drew back, they sat for a moment looking at each other. Ash reached out to touch Eiji’s side, and then traced the line on the waistband of his pants. 

“Is this okay?”

Eiji swallowed, “Yes.”

“You’ll tell us if we need to stop?” Shorter asked, undoing the button on Eiji’s pants and slowly pulling down the zipper. 

“Y - yes.” 

Eiji lifted his hips to help as Shorter undressed him, he was already half hard. Ash leaned in again to kiss Eiji as Shorter leaned back to take off his own clothes. As they kissed, Ash ran his hand up the inside of Eiji’s thigh, careful not to touch too high just yet, enjoying the way Eiji squirmed and sighed, encouraging him to keep going. 

He felt Shorter’s hands on him then, felt him undo Ash’s own jeans, and eventually broke the kiss to let Shorter undress him properly. Soon all three of them sat naked. Shorter was a familiar and beautiful patchwork of scars, dark skin, and thick muscle. Eiji was well muscled too, and Ash remembered he was also an athlete, his side was bruised lightly, he seemed no stranger to scar tissue either. 

They all smiled at each other, Eiji seemed as if he wished he had more eyes to take them in at once. And, while Ash never tired of looking at Shorter naked, it was easier for him to concentrate on Eiji, and he imagined it was the same for Shorter. 

“What do you want, Eiji?”

He watched Eiji’s face suffuse with colour, he wanted to know in detail what had just crossed his mind. “Anything,” Eiji answered, painfully honest, “Everything.”

It was like they were hungry for Eiji specifically, because Ash and Shorter fell on him, tracing their fingers and mouths over the wonderful expanse of skin all over his body. Eiji in turn was incredibly receptive, boldly touching them back, and clearly struggling to keep his voice down, a problem that was only magnified when Shorter lowered his head between Eiji’s thighs. 

Eiji was lying on his back now, reaching out for Ash as he bit his lip hard. Ash kissed his mouth once, kissed down his neck and chest, reveling in the feel of hot skin, and eventually made his way down to Eiji’s hip. 

“Shorter - “ Eiji gasped, “Wait, I’m going to - “

Shorter backed off immediately, and Eiji made a pained, frustrated sound. “Should we just get him off once?” Shorter asked Ash, sitting up.

Ash tilted his head considering, Eiji was flushed, dark eyed, and breathing hard. “I think he can wait.”

“You - assholes,” Eiji said, the bite in his words softened with how breathy his voice was, he tried to glare, but Ash ran a hand up the inside of his thigh, and then back down, teasingly close, and Eiji’s expression crumpled. 

While he did that Shorter got up and pulled a bag out from a drawer under Ash’s bed, bringing it back he dumped the contents in front of them. 

Ash took back his hand and opened the box of condoms while Shorter opened the brand new bottle of lube. 

“You said you’d take us in any way but,” Shorter asked, “How do you want us?” 

Eiji swallowed audibly. 

From there they were a mess of long limbs, of hurried touches, and gasps, and when Eiji accidentally poured almost half the bottle of lube onto Ash’s stomach, they dissolved into laughter. As undeniably _hot_ as the situation was, Ash thought that perhaps the laughter was the greatest part of it. That when Shorter kissed Eiji sweetly, Eiji _giggled_ , that when Ash, frustrated that he couldn’t open the condom with slippery fingers, tore it open with his teeth, Shorter fell over laughing. It reminded Ash of the nights they had stayed up talking, arguing, joking, it was as fun as it was reassuring, that the fundamental, underlying foundation of their collective relationship was something good. Ash had never been one to believe in a higher power, but maybe - _maybe_ \- this was meant to be. 

Logistically, this maneuver was perhaps ambiguous for their first time, but none of them were willing to back down. When they were ready to try, they arranged themselves as best they could. As much experience as Shorter and Ash had together, they had never done _this_. 

“Are you ready?” Ash asked Eiji, looking down at his beautiful flushed face, feeling Eiji’s strong thighs against his hips.

“Yes.”

Ash swallowed, and then nodded. Slowly, carefully, he pressed in. Eiji muffled a cry into his fist, and Ash shook with the effort it cost him to move slow. He had done this before with Shorter, but this wasn’t Shorter, it was Eiji, and this was familiar, but new. His heart beat loudly in his ears as his cock was engulfed in exquisite tight heat. 

He felt Shorter’s hands on his back, storking him soothingly, and then gentle kisses to his neck as Ash stilled, all the way in and out of breath. 

“Are you alright?” It was Shorter that asked, and it could have been either of them he asked. 

“You can do it,” Ash replied after a beat. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

He heard rustling, and then felt the familiar hold of Shorter’s hands on his hips. In the moment that he felt Shorter smoothly slide in, he caught Eiji’s gaze. Eiji looked like someone told him he had won the lottery, like he had been given his greatest wish, like he held in his hand something so indescribably precious he was left speechless. 

“Ready?” Shorter’s voice was muffled against the skin of Ash’s shoulder.

“Yes.” Ash and Eiji said at the same time.

They didn’t get the rhythm right away. They started, and stopped, they laughed a little awkwardly, but they kissed each other, reassuring each other that it was okay, to try again. Ash thought suddenly of the three-legged races schools made them run in gym class as children, and he had to fight not to suddenly burst into laughter. 

“Okay,” Shorter said, “Like _this_.”

They moved together, the sounds they made mingling, hushed, yet loud in the otherwise silent room. The double stimulation Ash felt was the height of pleasure, he lowered himself onto his forearm, and with one hand reached down to grasp Eiji’s cock. As much as he wanted to live in this moment, it was too much, he wouldn’t last long with the feel of both Eiji and Shorter at once. 

Eiji’s hands gripped his back, his helpless gasps went through Ash like fire in his veins. Ash was going to burn up, melt, and he was going to take them both with him in a rush of heat. 

Their pace picked up, Shorter was hot against Ash’s back, and when he pressed his hips up, Ash jerked forward.

“I - can’t - “ Ash managed to get out, “I - “

Closing his eyes against the feeling, Ash came in a rush that made his head spin. Faintly he heard his lovers murmur to him, but he could barely hear it over the roar of his own blood in his ears. 

When he could open his eyes again, he saw Eiji looking at him with soft eyes. He leaned up to kiss Ash, and then drew back. Neither Eiji nor Shorter had finished yet. 

The maneuvering was a little awkward, but Ash extracted himself from where he was sandwiched between his two lovers, and then laid himself down beside Eiji. He took his hand and kissed it. 

“Go on,” he urged. 

They did. Shorter slid slowly into Eiji, who threw his head back, and forgot to cover his mouth when he cried out. Ash watched as Shorter quickly worked them both back up, watched the desperate way Eiji clung to him, and then stretched out to kiss first Shorter, and then Eiji.

Eiji came first, gasping into Ash’s mouth and shaking, he gripped Ash’s hand hard. 

When Shorter pulled out, they both looked at him, he still hadn’t come. 

Ash groaned and threw a hand over his forehead. “Fuck you and your stamina.” Eiji laughed helplessly beside him. 

*

Spring came as a much needed respite from the cold. The longer days were welcome too, and it had been a few years now since Eiji had moved to America, but he still missed seeing particular Japanese seasonal events, he hadn’t realized how much he took them for granted until he suddenly didn’t have them anymore. 

He was just putting his water bottle in his bag when his phone buzzed. Eiji didn’t even need to look at it, he went immediately for the door. 

“I hate when Shorter’s on time,” Ash muttered from where he sat on his bed, pulling on a clean shirt. 

Sure enough, it was Shorter who was standing on the other side of the door. He leaned down, with an easy familiarity that made Eiji smile every time he thought about it, and kissed him. 

“‘Morning, cutie.” Shorter smiled, and then lifted his head to look at Ash, “‘Morning, grumpy.”

“Why does Eiji get ‘cutie’?” Ash grumbled, obviously irritated as he stood and grabbed his jacket off the back of his desk chair. 

“Because he’s cute, obviously.”

Laughing a little, Eiji elbowed Shorter and went over to Ash. Ash was not a morning person, first thing in the morning he was, as Shorter pointed out, grumpy. Even still, he insisted on joining them when then they went for their morning practice. Ash sat on the bleachers while Shorter and Eiji joined their track team for practice. Even after they had both tried to convince him to join, he had the physical prowess, Ash remained firm that he would not, and continued to simply go out and support them. 

As much as they both joked about Ash’s mood, Eiji knew that both he and Shorter were grateful for his presence. 

It had surprised Eiji how easily and how quickly he had been enveloped into the lives of these two young men. They had folded him into their relationship so neatly, so seamlessly, they might have been waiting for him this whole time. And, where once Eiji had been merely a shadow in the halls, now he was known in the school as Ash and Shorter’s boyfriend. More surprising still was how he had begun to gain recognition on his own merit, as a talented pole vaulter, something that made both Ash and Shorter beam with pride. 

It was strange this thing between them. Or, rather, it was strange that it _didn’t_ feel strange. Eiji felt as if they were all points in a triangle, integral for shape, for stability, and ultimately, the strongest shape. They were stars in a constellation, bright and beautiful on their own, but something more together. 

“Come on, we’ll be late.”

They headed out together into the crisp morning air. Eiji looped his arm through Ash’s, and Shorter wrapped his arm around Ash’s shoulders. Their breath still misted slightly when they laughed at one of Shorter’s jokes. Birds sang, the sun shone with as much warmth as it could muster for early spring, and Eiji was not alone. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much to [Mosspandas](https://twitter.com/mosspandas) for her awesome [art](https://twitter.com/mosspandas/status/1271205718855577600) that inspired this fic!! And thanks to everyone organizing and participating in the Banana Fish RBB, it was so great to be part of this event again! =D
> 
> You can find me on [tumblr](snowfallswrites.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/snow_falls4)!


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